IBM Thinkpad A30 A30p A31 A31p Dock Manual
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Related service information This section provides information about the following: v“Service web site” v“Restoring the preloaded system” v“Passwords”on page 29 v“Power management”on page 31 Service web site When the latest maintenance diskette and the system program service diskette become available, a notice will be posted onhttp://www.ibm.com/pc/partner/infotips Restoring the preloaded system If the data on a hard-disk drive is damaged or accidentally erased, you can restore the software that was shipped with the computer. This software includes the pre-installed operating system, applications, and device drivers. To restore the pre-installed software, you can use either the Product Recovery program or a recovery CD. Ordering the recovery CDWhen the hard-disk drive is replaced because of a failure, no Product Recovery program is on the new hard disk. In this case, you must use the Product Recovery CD for the computer. Order the recovery CD and the hard-disk drive at the same time so that you can recover the new hard-disk drive with the pre-installed software when they arrive. For information on which CD to order, see“Recovery CDs”on page 171 The Product Recovery program is in the service partition, a section of the hard-disk drive that is not displayed by Windows Explorer. Attention:All of the files on the primary hard-disk partition (usually drive C) will be lost in the recovery process. Be sure to back up copies of the files you have saved on your drive C before you begin. Product Recovery program Note:The recovery process might take up to 2 hours. To use the Product Recovery program to restore the pre-installed software, do the following: 1. Save all files and shut down the desktop. 2. Turn off the computer. Related service information General descriptions27
3. Turn on the computer. If you are using Windows XP, three messages (F1, F11, and F12) appear on the screen for a few seconds. One of them is“Press F11 to invoke the IBM Product Recovery program”. While the message is displayed, quickly press F11. 4. From the list displayed on the screen, select the operating system you want to recover. 5. Select the recovery options you want, and follow the instructions on the screen. 6. When the Product Recovery program finishes running, the computer will restart with the pre-installed operating system, drivers, and software. Using the recovery CDTo create the service partition and install the preloaded system from the recovery CD, do the following: To create the service partition: 1. Erase all partitions on the hard-disk drive, using FDISK or a similar application. 2. Boot with the recovery CD (and the boot diskette if required.) 3. Following message is displayed:“Your computer originally included a Product Recovery program ... Reinstall the Product Recovery program? (Y/N) [ ]”. Note:If the hard-disk drive contains any partitions, you do not receive this message; go to step 1. 4. Press Y key. The service partition is created and loaded with the Product Recovery program files. Note:If you do not want to create the service partition, press N key, and then go to step 8. 5. At next window, press Enter to continue. vThe service partition is created. The system automatically reboots during this process. vThe recovery process copies some files to the service partition, and PKUNZIPs others. vFollow the prompts. You may be prompted to change CDs. vWhen the process is complete, the system reboots. Continue to step 6 to install preloaded system. Install preloaded system from CD: 6. Boot with the recovery CD (and the boot diskette if required.) 7. If the hard-disk drive is blank, the following message is displayed:“Your computer originally included a Related service information 28MT 2652/2653/2654
Product Recovery program ... Reinstall the Product Recovery program? (Y/N) [ ]”. vTo install the service partition, go to step 4. vTo preload the hard-disk drive without installing the service partition, press N key. 8. If you get a message asking which operating system to install, select the proper operating system and press Enter. 9. A message is displayed:“Full Recovery:”. Press Enter to select. 10. On each of the next three windows, press the Y key. 11. Follow the prompts to complete the recovery. Passwords As many as three passwords may be needed for any ThinkPad computer: the power-on password (POP), the hard-disk password (HDP), and the supervisor password (SVP). If any of these passwords has been set, a prompt for it appears on the screen whenever the computer is turned on. The computer does not start until the password is entered. Exception:If only an SVP is installed, the password prompt does not appear when the operating system is booted. Power-on password:A power-on password (POP) protects the system from being powered on by an unauthorized person. The password must be entered before an operating system can be booted. Hard-disk password:There are two hard-disk passwords (HDPs): vUser HDP—for the user vMaster HDP—for the system administrator, who can use it to get access to the hard disk even if the user has changed the user HDP Note:There are two modes for the HDP:User onlyand Master + User. TheMaster + Usermode requires two HDPs; the system administrator enters both in the same operation. The system administrator then provides the user HDP to the system user. Related service information General descriptions29
Attention:If the user HDP has been forgotten, check whether a master HDP has been set. If it has, it can be used for access to the hard-disk drive. If no master HDP is available, IBM does not provide any services to reset either the user or the master HDP, or to recover data from the hard-disk drive. The hard-disk drive can be replaced for a scheduled fee. Supervisor password:A supervisor password (SVP) protects the system information stored in the IBM BIOS Setup Utility. The SVP must be entered in order to get access to the IBM BIOS Setup Utility and make changes to system configuration settings. Attention:If the SVP has been forgotten and cannot be made available to the servicer, there is no service procedure to reset the password. The system board must be replaced for a scheduled fee. How to remove the power-on passwordTo remove a POP that you have forgotten, do the following: (A) If no SVP has been set: 1. Turn off the computer. 2. Remove the battery pack. For how to remove the battery pack, see“1010 Battery pack”on page 62. 3. Remove the backup battery. For how to remove the backup battery, see“1040 Backup battery”on page 73. 4. Turn on the computer and wait until the POST ends. After the POST ends, the password prompt does not appear. The POP has been removed. 5. Reinstall the backup battery and the battery pack. (B) If an SVP has been set and is known by the servicer: 1. Turn on the computer; then, while the“To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button” message is displayed at the lower-left of the screen, press the Access IBM button. 2. Enter the SVP. SelectStart setup utility. 3. SelectSecurity, using the cursor keys to move down the menu. 4. SelectPassword. 5. SelectPower-On Password. 6. At the Enter Current Password field, enter the SVP. Related service information 30MT 2652/2653/2654
7. When the Enter New Password field opens, leave it blank and press Enter twice. 8. In the Changes have been saved window, press Enter. 9. Press F10; then, in the Setup confirmation window, selectYe s. How to remove the hard-disk passwordAttention:IfUser onlymode is selected and the user HDP has been forgotten and cannot be made available to the servicer, IBM does not provide any services to reset the user HDPs or to recover data from the hard-disk drive. The hard-disk drive can be replaced for a scheduled fee. To remove a user HDP that has been forgotten, when the SVP and the master HDP are known, do the following: 1. Turn on the computer; then, while the“To interrupt normal startup, press the blue Access IBM button” message is displayed at the lower-left of the screen, press the Access IBM button. 2. Enter the SVP. SelectStart setup utility. 3. SelectSecurity, using the cursor keys to move down the menu. 4. SelectPassword. 5. SelectHard-diskxpassword, wherexis the letter of the hard-disk drive. A pop-up window opens. 6. SelectMaster HDP. 7. Enter the master HDP; then leave the New Password field blank and press Enter twice. 8. Press F10. 9. SelectYe sin the Setup Configuration window. Both user HDP and master HDP will have been removed. Power management To reduce power consumption, the computer has three power management modes: screen blank, standby, and hibernation. NotesvScreen blank mode is calledstandby modein Windows NT. vStandby mode is calledsuspend modein Windows NT. Screen blank modeScreen blank mode has three variants, as follows: Related service information General descriptions31
1. If you press Fn+F3, or the time set on the“LCD off timer”in IBM BIOS Setup Utility expires, vThe LCD backlight turns off. vThe hard-disk drive motor stops. vThe speaker is muted. 2. If you are using the ACPI operating system and you press Fn+F3, vThe LCD backlight turns off. vThe hard-disk drive motor stops. 3. If the time set on the“Turn off monitor”timer in the operating system expires, vThe LCD backlight turns off. To end screen blank mode and resume normal operation, press any key. Standby modeWhen the computer enters standby mode, the following events occur in addition to what occurs in screen blank mode: vThe LCD is powered off. vThe hard-disk drive is powered off. vThe CPU stops. To enter standby mode, press Fn+F4. Note:You can change the action of Fn+F4, if you are using the ACPI operating system. In certain circumstances, the computer goes into standby mode automatically: vIf a“suspend time”has been set on the timer, and the user does not do any operation with the keyboard, the TrackPoint, the hard disk, the parallel connector, or the diskette drive within that time. vIf the battery indicator blinks orange, indicating that the battery power is low. (Alternatively, ifHibernate when battery becomes lowhas been selected in the“Power Management Properties”window, the computer goes into hibernation mode.) Note for the APM operating system: Even if you do not set the low-battery alarm, the charge indicator notifies you when the battery is low, and then the computer enters the power-saving mode automatically. This default low-battery behavior is independent of the operating system; so if you have set the low-battery alarm, the computer may not do what you specified. It chooses either your setting or the default setting, whichever is appropriate. Related service information 32MT 2652/2653/2654
If you are using the ACPI operating system, only the low-battery alarm is available. To cause the computer to return from standby mode and resume operation, do one of the following: vPress the Fn key. vOpen the LCD cover. vTurn on the power switch. Also, the computer automatically returns from standby mode and resumes operation in either of the following events: vThe ring indicator (RI) is signaled by a serial device or a PC Card device (Windows 2000 does not support the ring indicator (RI) resume by PC Card device.) vThe time set on the resume timer elapses. In Windows 98, theScheduled Taskssetting takes priority over the Resume on timerselection in the“Power Management Properties”window. Note:The computer does not accept any input immediately after it enters standby mode. Wait a few seconds before taking any action to reenter operation mode. Hibernation mode Note for Windows NTIf you are using Windows NT in NTFS format, you cannot create a hibernation file. If you want to use hibernation mode, you will need to reinstall Windows NT with FAT format. In hibernation mode, the following occurs: vThe system status, RAM, VRAM, and setup data are stored on the hard disk. vThe system is powered off. Note:If the computer enters the hibernation mode while it is docked to the docking station, do not undock it from the docking station before resuming normal operation. If you do undock it and then try to resume normal operation, you will get an error message, and you will have to restart the system. To cause the computer to enter hibernation mode, do any of the following: vPress the Fn+F12 keys. vIf you are using the APM operating system and have set the mode toPower switch mode [Hibernation], turn off the power switch. Related service information General descriptions33
vIf you are using the ACPI operating system and have defined one of the following actions as the event that causes the system to go into hibernation mode, perform that action. –Closing the lid. –Pressing the power button. –Pressing Fn+F4 keys. Also, the computer goes into hibernation mode automatically in either of the following conditions: vIf a“hibernation time”has been set on the timer, and the user does not do any operation with the keyboard, the TrackPoint, the hard-disk drive, the parallel connector, or the diskette drive within that time. vIf the timer conditions are satisfied in suspend mode. vIf you are using the APM operating system and have set the mode toHibernate when battery becomes low, and the battery charge becomes critically low. When the power is turned on, the computer returns from hibernation mode and resumes operation. The hibernation file in the boot record on the hard-disk drive is read, and system status is restored from the hard-disk drive. Related service information 34MT 2652/2653/2654
Checkout guide Use the following procedures as a guide in identifying and correcting problems with the ThinkPad computer. Note:The diagnostic tests are intended to test only IBM products. The use of non-IBM products, prototype cards, or modified options can lead to false indications of errors and invalid system responses. 1. Identify the failing symptoms in as much detail as possible. 2. Verify the symptoms. Try to re-create the failure by running the diagnostic test or by repeating the operation. Testing the computer The ThinkPad computer has a test program called PC-Doctor®DOS (hereafter calledPC-Doctor). You can detect errors by running the diagnostics test included in PC-Doctor. This section is an overview of the procedure. For details that depend on model-unique functions, refer to “Product overview”on page 43. For some possible configurations of the computer, PC-Doctor might not run correctly. To avoid this problem, you need to initialize the computer setup by use of the IBM BIOS Setup Utility before you run PC-Doctor. On the IBM BIOS Setup Utility screen, press F9, Enter, F10, and then Enter. Note:When you initialize the computer configuration, some devices are disabled, such as the serial port. If you test one of these devices, you will need to enable it by using PS2.EXE. PC-Doctor cannot be used to test a device that is in the docking station, even if the computer supports the docking station. To test a USB device, connect it to the USB connector of the computer. To test the Ultrabay device, install it in the Ultrabay slot of the computer. To run the test, do as follows: Note:In the following procedure, you can select an item not only with the arrow keys, but also with the TrackPoint. Instead of pressing Enter, click the left button. 1. Insert the PC-Doctor disk into the diskette drive; then power on the computer. If the computer cannot be powered on, go to“Power system checkout”on page 38, and check the power sources. Checkout guide General descriptions35
If an error code appears, go to“Symptom-to-FRU index”on page 51. On the first screen, select the model and press Enter. Follow the instructions on the screen. 2. The main panel of PC-Doctor appears. 3. SelectDiagnosticswith the arrow keys, and press Enter. A pull-down menu appears. (Its exact form depends on the model.) The options on the test menu are as follows: Diagnostics Interactive Tests vRun Normal Test vRun Quick Test vCPU/Coprocessor vSystemboard vVideo Adapter vSerial Ports vParallel Ports vFixed Disks vDiskette Drives vOther Devices vZIP Drive vLS-120/240 Drive vCommunication vWireless LAN vMemory Test–Full vMemory Test–QuickvKeyboard vVideo vInternal Speaker vMouse vDiskette vSystem Load vCD-ROM/DVD Test vActiontec Wireless Radio Notes: vIn theKeyboardtest inInteractive Tests, the Fn key is scanned only once. Each key should be held down for at least 2 seconds; otherwise, it cannot be sensed. vVideo Adaptertest supports only the LCD display on the ThinkPad computer. Before running PC-Doctor DOS, detach the external Monitor. vTo testZIP DriveorLS-120/240 Drive, each media is needed to be inserted before start testing. vTo testDigital Signature Chip, the chip must be enabled and initialized. vWhen Legacy Floppy Drives is enabled in the IBM BIOS Setup Utility,Diskette Drivestest is activated even if no legacy diskette drive is attached to the ThinkPad computer. Checkout guide 36MT 2652/2653/2654